Islington Park gate locking consultation: a fairer service for all parks

Residents across Islington are invited to share their thoughts and ideas on proposed changes to the way the borough’s parks and green spaces are locked.

The proposed changes would mean all park gates are left unlocked, enabling the council to move to a more flexible system that can respond to any issues as and when they occur.

This would ensure that resources to manage anti-social behaviour (ASB) are fairly allocated across all Islington parks, including the parks in the borough that are not currently locked. These changes would also help with the essential budget savings that the council are required to make.

The proposed new service will mean that the council can be more proactive in preventing anti-social behaviour and respond accordingly when it does occur. Additional Park Guard patrols (two patrols instead of one for most of the year), would mean more parks patrol staff will be present around the borough.

The council would also use intelligence and data to target parks where ASB occurs and can use a number of measures including mobile CCTV towers, temporary locks for sites, or an on-site park security presence for ongoing issues.

Cllr Rowena Champion, Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality and Transport said: “The proposed changes to the park gate locking service will make sure that all parks and green spaces in the borough can benefit from the limited resources that we have, which will be most welcome for those parks that aren’t currently locked.

“It will also contribute to vital savings that the council is having to make at a time when council budgets are being stretched to the limit and difficult decisions have to be made.

“We are keen to hear from Islington residents about how this change may impact them, and any ideas or suggestions they may have.”

This proposed change will save £140,000, of which £40,000 would be reinvested in the parks security budget, allowing the council to better address anti-social behaviour (ASB) across all 122 parks in Islington.

The council is listening to feedback, suggestion, and concerns regarding these changes, and a consultation is open until Monday 7 April. More information is available on the Let’s Talk Islington site.

Before 2015, all 92 parks with gates were locked overnight (there are a total of 122 parks and open spaces).
In 2015, we stopped locking 46 parks leaving meaning 63% of parks and green spaces in the borough are currently left open all night.
Locking of parks in the spring and summer months only starts at 9pm takes up to 3.5 hours to complete. This means most parks are not locked until late at night, diminishing the potential benefits from locking. The locking only starts at 9pm to ensure parks remain accessible to the public for longer in the warm and light periods of the year.
We are proposing to stop locking the remaining parks, except for three sites locked by the community and three by park keepers (Highbury Fields – Sports Area, Rosemary Gardens, and Whittington Park).